Page 1454 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 4 May 2016
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It is because of this ideological blindness that conservative politicians around the world appear to be unaware of the human face of every dollar they slash from public funding to vital community services. It has always made me laugh that the leader of the Canberra Liberals and some of his far right wing colleagues have to sit in silence pretending they have nothing to do with their federal counterparts and their never-ending romper stomper attempts on Canberra and Canberrans.
Publicly, there appears to be a deafening silence from the Canberra Liberals whenever the federal Liberal government shows its true colours. It is particularly awkward for them that today the Canberra Liberals must try to say to Canberrans that, despite the actions of their federal counterparts, they have the territory’s best interests at heart, even though a Canberra Liberal government would mean more bankrupt ideology that supports the same sorts of slash-and-burn cuts to jobs, services and support for vulnerable people across the ACT.
The people who continuously slash jobs and services are supposed to be mates of the leader of the Canberra Liberals. He has them on speed dial. If he wanted to argue for more jobs and services in Canberra, he could, I would assume. He could come out publicly and stand up for Canberrans. But he does not, and he will not, because underneath that pro-Canberra facade he, too, wants to cut this city to the bone. He is missing in action, far too busy spreading lies about light rail rather than standing up for small business people, workers and pensioners in Canberra.
For all the Canberra Liberals’ huff and puff on how the world will end, Canberra still gets light rail in this budget. One glimmer of hope from last night’s federal budget is that, despite the increased cuts for Canberra, the so-called efficiency dividends and talks of budget repair, the federal Liberals still see funding Canberra’s light rail as a priority for the future of this city and the future of this country. This shows that those opposite are out of touch with Canberrans at the same time as they are at loggerheads with Infrastructure Australia and, inexplicably, even the federal Treasurer and Prime Minister. How sad it must be for them when the community have it confirmed that they are out of touch with the interests of Canberra and at the same time their federal colleagues are calling them economic lunatics.
On the subject of rail, it appears that the Prime Minister is a big fan and views various forms of rail as an important part of the city’s and the country’s development. The federal government has committed billions of dollars to light rail and rail projects in Sydney and Melbourne and across the country. This begs the question of why the Canberra Liberals think that Canberra should become a second-class city when the rest of Australia is moving ahead on expanding public transport options for their citizens.
Just like Senator Seselja, those opposite do not fight for the public service, and they do not fight for Canberra. The truth is that the Canberra Liberals support federal Liberal cuts and mis-described efficiency dividends which will put massive economic strain on Canberra’s economy.
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